Wannaskan Almanac for Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Caught up in the Number 153

One of the worst kept secrets about me is that I like to fish.  In Dr. Seuss talk:

I would catch them here or there. 

I would catch them anywhere. 

I would catch them by a dam. 

I do like fishing, thank you ma'am.

There is a lot to do with fishing in the Bible.  One of the things I find most interesting is in John 21 where Jesus tells the disciples to throw their nets on the right side of the boat.  They had been fishing all night and hadn't caught any (a common problem for fishermen like me) so they (likely grudgingly)  obliged Jesus' request and suddenly they caught a lot of big fish...no that isn't exactly what it says.  It says they caught exactly 153 big fish.  

153 fish

For some reason the fishermen took the time to count out the fish and they came up with the number 153.  There are a multitude of theories about what the 153 number represents.  This is just a sample.

1. The catch of fish tells us of the salvation of humanity, but humanity cannot be saved without keeping the 10 commandments. But, on account of the fall, we cannot even keep the commandments without the help of grace and the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the number 7 signifies holiness, since God blessed the 7th day and made it holy (Gen 2:3). But 10 plus 7 equals 17, and if all the numbers from 1 to 17 are added together (1+2+3…+17), they equal 153. Hence, the 153 fish signify that all the elect are to be saved by the gift of grace (7) and the following of the commandments (10). (St Augustine, Commentary on John, 72.8)

2. 153 consists of 100 (the great number of gentiles to be saved), plus 50 (the smaller number of Jews to be saved), plus 3 (the Trinity who saves all) (St Cyril; this kind of reading is very similar to that of his brother Methodius in reading the number 1260 in Rev 12). Others follow St. Cyril, but modify this as follows: 100 (the multitude of married lay faithful in the Church), plus 50 (the many faithful who commit themselves later in life to continence either living as widows or living with their spouse in a brother-sister relationship), plus 3 (the precious few who commit their whole lives to celibacy as virgins) equals 153 (the whole Church taken together as a single body).

3. It was thought at that time that there were only 153 species of fish in all the world. Hence, the disciples caught 153 fish, signifying that people of every class and time would be saved through the Gospel. (St Jerome, Comm. Ez. 47.6-12).

4. Pythogoras was associated with catches of fish, and he had calculated that 153 is the denominator of the closest known fraction to the square root of 3 (265/153), and this was also the ratio of a fish shape drawn between two overlapping circles which are centred on each other’s circumference. This shape is therefore known as the vesica piscis or the mandorla and the ratio was called by Pythagoras the ‘measure of the fish’. If the two circles represent God and humanity, then the overlap represents Jesus as God incarnate, along with his followers, whose sign becomes the sign of the fish.

5. 153 written in base 120 is 18,360 days, which indicates the delay in the coming of the Millennium, but means that September 11, 2017 will be a significant date in the ‘end times’ calendar.  Notable events on that date include hurricane Irma hitting Florida and Rafael Nadal winning the US Open.  I will leave that up to you to decide the apocalyptic meaning in each of those two events.

6. The square root of 153 is 12.369, which is the number of lunar months in a solar year, and it therefore points to the moon which waxes and wanes, which is visible one minute and hides itself another. Just as the moon can hide itself, in Isaiah 8 the Lord spoke of hiding his face from Israel and binding up his testimony among the disciples.  The fish and the number 153 are for signs and symbols.  “Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion” (Isaiah 8:11-18).

7. My favorite: fishermen are prone to exaggerate. Thus the writer of the Fourth Gospel tells us the exact number of the catch, so that we can believe that it was a miraculous catch of large fish, and we don’t dismiss it merely as Peter’s exaggerated claim!  My last ice-fishing trip resulted in a similar catch...just need to replace the word large with medium to small and move the decimal in the number 153.

The most likely kind of fish that were caught by the disciples on the Sea of Galilee were binny, tilapia, or Kinneret sardines.  A binny can weigh in at up to 15 pounds.  A tilapia can grow up to 5 pounds.  A sardine...well, if you open a can of sardines you will see about how big they get.  When they describe the fish as large I get the impression that the fish caught were binnies.  

barbus longiceps, otherwise known as a binny

So if, like me, you find yourself fishing this summer and you aren't having any luck...try throwing your lure off the other side of the boat.  I have done it many times and I can tell you that it hasn't worked for me yet...but I still keep the faith.